MorphoSys has always had a reputation for great technology, but increasingly the Company’s comprehensive pipeline is taking center stage. By maximizing the number of programs based on its technology, MorphoSys increases its future upside and reduces the risk which always accompanies the development of new medicines. The list of product candidates developed by the Company’s partners includes exciting programs such as Roche’s Alzheimer’s disease antibody Gantenerumab and Novartis’s BHQ880, a first-in-class cancer antibody that promotes bone formation in multiple myeloma patients.
Proprietary Products Complement Partnered Programs
MorphoSys’s proprietary programs complement the larger contribution to its pipeline from pharmaceutical partnerships. Its most important proprietary compound is the anti-inflammatory antibody MOR103. This program is currently being tested in a phase 1b/2a trial in patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. MOR103 not only looks very promising as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, it also has the potential to treat other inflammatory diseases.
Benefit from Growing Importance of Diagnostics
MorphoSys’s other business component is AbD Serotec. This unit is focused on commercializing the Company’s antibodies and technologies in the research and diagnostics markets. AbD Serotec’s growing penetration of the diagnostics market positions MorphoSys to benefit from the growing importance of diagnostics during the development of drugs and in conjunction with their use in the market. An array of alliances with pharma and diagnostics companies is of strategic importance for MorphoSys, with its technology at the nexus of these two industries.
Business Model with Balanced Risk/Reward Profile
MorphoSys’s distinctive and sustainable business model has put the Company in a very strong financial position. This strength provides the foundations for a substantially increased investment in proprietary product and technology development, which, in turn, will drive growth and value generation. The Company’s ability to fund all internal development activities while remaining profitable is a unique feature of its business model, setting it apart from the majority of high-risk, cash-burning biopharmaceutical companies.
